Lift dispute affecting residents of Ballymun

Dublin Corporation says it will have to review a £5 million lift maintenance contract if an unofficial dispute by lift engineers is not resolved in the next few weeks. Lift engineers are currently refusing to answer repair call-outs outside normal working hours because of an unofficial pay dispute.

The repair and maintenance of the lifts in the Ballymun blocks have been seriously affected by the dispute. Dublin Corporation has a three-year contract with Pickerings Lifts Ltd for the maintenance of lifts in the area's tower and spine blocks.

Tenants in the spine blocks in Coultry Road, Ballymun, say that since the dispute began, they have had to wait up to six weeks for lifts in the eight-storey blocks to be repaired. As a result, elderly and sick tenants have had difficulty in leaving their flats, while some mothers with young children have had to carry buggies up and down several flights of stairs. Mr Gerry O'Donoghue, chief regional officer for the Ballymun area, said the corporation would have to review its arrangements with Pickerings if a "full and proper" service was not resumed in the next few weeks.

"We're not happy with the delays at the moment and we would like to restore the good service available before the dispute began. We haven't much influence over the situation because the dispute is an unofficial one," Mr O'Donoghue said.

Mr John O'Brien, managing director of Pickerings, said that callouts to commercial customers were being dealt with quickly, despite the dispute. He said delays in servicing the lifts were particularly acute because of the number of lifts concentrated in the area.

He said Dublin Corporation could not review the terms of the three-year contract with the company because of a provision in the contract covering force majeure, including strike action.

However, Cllr Eamonn O'Brien of the Labour Party said the age of the lifts, while lamentable, was a "lame excuse" for the delays being experienced in Ballymun.